The National Institute of Health (NIH) on Tuesday issued its seasonal awareness and alert letter (SAAL) for epidemic-prone infectious diseases in Pakistan.
According to NIH, the main purpose of SAAL is to alert all concerned health authorities and professionals at all levels for timely and efficient responses to outbreaks or epidemics.
The letter has been developed for the summer and monsoon season from June to September 2021. In this letter, NIH exhibited patterns of high priority communicable diseases including Hepatitis (A and E), Cholera, COVID-19, CCHF, Dengue Fever, Leishmaniasis, Malaria, Measles, Polio and XDR Typhoid.
These diseases are predicted to be on high alert during the said season. It also contains the detailed introduction of diseases, case definitions, infectious agents, modes of transmission, case management, and prevention, it added.
Through this letter, the NIH informed about national and international public health events like Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis (Naegleria fowleri) and heat stroke as national while Ebola Virus Disease may be a threat for any of the country or region in future.
On the basis of the last five-year data, the NIH recommended for all federal, provincial, and district health departments to keep continuous surveillance on the anticipated seasonal public health threats and take all preventive or curative measures in this context.
Due to the ongoing pandemic situation of COVID-19, its epidemiology, impact, prevention, and control was also elaborated in detail. It said that to facilitate the stakeholders, the requisite technical guidelines and awareness material regarding infectious diseases along with Seasonal Awareness Alert Letter are also available at the NIH website.
